Richard Young and Sam Strange have been performing all over the globe for more than a decade with their brand of comedic illusion in various incarnations. In turn, they’ve received rave reviews …
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Richard Young and Sam Strange have been performing all over the globe for more than a decade with their brand of comedic illusion in various incarnations. In turn, they’ve received rave reviews and widespread acclaim in their native United Kingdom, and they’re looking to have a similar effect in the United States.
These “delusionists” are performing a small run of shows around New England with the first stop being in the Park Theater on January 17 located at 848 Park Avenue in Cranston. Starting at 7:30pm, Young and Strange plan on putting on a one-of-a-kind extravaganza that’ll be a memorable time for anyone who attends.
Both Young and Strange have known each other since they were kids while first getting into magic. They also shared a love for comedy, which they incorporate. This mix of talent helps them stand apart from other magicians and illusionists.
“We both got into magic when we were younger,” Strange says. “We grew up in the same town and we were fairly close, about 20 minutes apart. It just kind of went from there really, but it was a love of magic more than comedy. The comedy side of things came later, it’s very British perhaps, but a lot of magicians and illusionists take themselves quite seriously. Honestly, we find it to be cringey sometimes, so we decided to make it more of a lighthearted, silly thing.”
“I remember going to comedy shows with Young when we were like teenagers during our early 20s and we were both finding the exact same thing funny,” he adds. “That taste in comedy is where our creative visions aligned.”
During their performance, the duo will often have members of the audience participate in various tricks and illusions throughout the evening. This adds an uncontrollable factor to the show, which makes it even more fun for everyone involved.
“That’s what’s so good about live entertainment, isn’t it,” Strange said. “Every single show, no matter how polished you are and especially when there’s audience interaction and people are coming up on stage, there’s always that variable you can’t really account for. You can do as much prep during rehearsal as you can, but certainly whenever there’s the vibe on stage and people coming up, that’s where you get the real fun because it’s different every single night.”
This upcoming show at The Park Theatre is going to be Young and Strange’s first ever show in Rhode Island. They’re very excited to be bringing their talents to a new audience.
“We’ve been touring in America since 2017, and it feels like we’ve been everywhere, but there’s a few key places we haven’t been and Rhode Island is one of them,” Young says. “It’s our very first time doing a show there and we’re genuinely excited to come and see what the audience is like. It’s a big deal for us to be two Brits coming to America in the first place, but when we get to go to specific places you hear about in the movies and on TV, it’s really exciting and we can’t wait.”
“When we originally started touring the states it was with a different production called ‘Champions Of Magic’, we found that the shows in the New England area had a slightly European flavor,” Strange adds. “I don’t know what it is, it could be because the people are used to seeing a lot of entertainment, they’re really smart and they absorb a lot of live theater, but they really tend to tap into the British sense of humor more than let’s say Alabama.”
For folks who are planning on coming to the show this Friday night, they should expect a performance of the highest quality that’s funny and engaging. It’s also ideal for anyone or any group of people.
“It’s honestly a really funny show to see,” Young mentions. “It’s perfect for the entire family, a couple who is looking for a great way to spend a date or if you regularly go to the theater, you’ll see things that you’ve never seen before. It’s a very fast-paced show for modern audiences, there’s no real long slow bits and it’s bang-bang-bang. You’re going to see a lot of magic, you’re going to see everything from pure small sleight of hand that we’ll put on a big screen to us literally driving a 55 foot long truck full of illusions.
“You’re going to see everything and it’s all tied together with our British humor where we don’t take it too seriously, we make fun of ourselves and we don’t make fun of anyone who comes up on stage,” he adds. “It’s really important to us that anyone who comes up on stage to assist is treated with the utmost respect and it’s us who always look like idiots. We promise that it will exceed your expectations, it’s a big show with a lot of big magic, great humor and you’re going to have a good time. Most of the magic that we do was chosen to go into the West End of London a few years ago, so this is top notch stuff. It’s not the local magic club coming to town, this is all of our work.”
“It’s just fun,” Strange also mentions. “Young and I genuinely, and this is not PR, love standing on stage together doing stuff for the audience and I think the audience recognizes that. They come along with the nonsense of the whole thing and how much fun it is. They appreciate watching two guys having a laugh and it’s a bit of escapism from the cynical world that we all live in at the moment.”
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